Usage shows that 65% play modern MLB, 25% fictional & 10% historical

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by frangipard

Not at all. If I'd have guessed, I'd had have gone more like 70/15/15, or even 80/10/10.

The difference between heavy users of a product and the users at large is a well-recognized phenomenon that all marketing people take into account. It's a manifestation of the Pareto Principle, though in the case of OOTP buyers and this forum, it's probably, along the lines of 95% of the consumer feedback coming from 5% of the purchasers.

That doesn't mean you ignore those 5%, as they are your loyal repeat customers, your brand evangelists, etc. But you take what they say with a grain of salt.

This.

I had posted back before the announcement that I had already figured some of this out. My private guess was 70/15/15, which wasn't all that accurate.

Regardless, the data is now in and it is what is. Now we all have to deal with a reality based on it.

[Jman0329]

Originally Posted by GoBucsGo

I've tried fictional, over and over and over again. I always seem to come up with a cool idea of a game world that I want to run, set it all up, and then I just can't seem to find enjoyment from it.

I don't connect with the players, teams, anything. Whenever I play a standard MLB game though, it's players I know, leagues, teams, everything that I know. I get some immersed in the game world that I go hours and hours playing. I never do that with a fictional game.

How do you guys stay immersed in a fictional set up? How do you care about your players and leagues?

Same.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by actionjackson

I can't begin to count the number of "I can't wait to try a historical game for the first time in eons" posts that I've seen since this new feature (brought about by a Herculean effort) was announced. Perhaps the potential historical crowd is a sleeping giant that was waiting for something like this to awaken.

My point was merely that argument by user percentage is perhaps not a particularly useful way of going about things. (Especially when one considers there is often crossover in terms of the benefits provided by a feature.)

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

My point was merely that argument by user percentage is perhaps not a particularly useful way of going about things. (Especially when one considers there is often crossover in terms of the benefits provided by a feature.)

Ahh. This is true.

[pizzaddict]

Originally Posted by GoBucsGo

I've tried fictional, over and over and over again. I always seem to come up with a cool idea of a game world that I want to run, set it all up, and then I just can't seem to find enjoyment from it.

I don't connect with the players, teams, anything. Whenever I play a standard MLB game though, it's players I know, leagues, teams, everything that I know. I get some immersed in the game world that I go hours and hours playing. I never do that with a fictional game.

How do you guys stay immersed in a fictional set up? How do you care about your players and leagues?

So what happens after 7 or 8 seasons when those players you recognize are gone? At that point you are basically running a fictional league. Do you scrap your league and start over every handful of seasons?

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

Perhaps things are taught differently in Canada but I was taught that less than 50% was a minority and that 25% or less was a small minority.

Saying "small minority" implies that it is of too small a size in numbers to wield any substantive influence. But consider: if one in four of the current user base suddenly stopped purchasing the annual edition of OOTP, would the effect be of little consequence? If a quarter of your income vanished tomorrow, I'd wager you'd easily notice it. (You'd certainly notice it much more than if 10% of your income vanished tomorrow.)

Originally Posted by The Wolf

As to what I should or should not write, I can't even believe that you would try to decide that for me.

You can write whatever you wish. But by arguing merit by user percentage, the implication is that the largest percentage should receive the predominant attention, and the smaller percentages can be safely ignored, since, after all, they are small and thus of little influence or value.

[Ravi]

Well, I'm a noob with OOTP, starting with OOTP 15 and I have only played historical, in fact that is what attracted me to the game - the incredible historical possibilities and depth. I don't follow MLB so current rosters don't hold much attraction... I couldn't even name all the expansion teams from the last 20 years.

Sure it's less flashy than playing current MLB, so it's not surprising really that historical players are a small minority, but it's an important minority given baseball's rich history. I think fans tend to know and care more about the history of baseball compared to other sports, with the possible exception of boxing. So having the historical possibilities built into the game with no additional fees is a sales point and sets OOTP apart.

I wasn't planning to update very quick to OOTP 17, but the inclusion of historical minors is something I can't resist, even if I need to start a new league to include them. I salute the team for focusing on that and am just blown away when I think of the insane amount of work that went into compiling that sort of database.

That being said, I also have a strong interest in the Atlantic league and I'm hoping historical schedules/rosters make it into the game at some point

[MikeS21]

I play with MLB rosters and regular minor league set-up. As my leagues progress season to season, regular players eventually are replaced by OOTP generated players, at which point, I begin to lose interest and usually end up starting a fresh league with familiar names. When my favorite players migrate away from my favorite team, I start focusing more on the minor leagues, but that tends to mean more fictional players generated in the drafts.

As others have done, I have attempted to start a fictional league, but they never seem to hold my interest.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by GoBucsGo

I've tried fictional, over and over and over again. I always seem to come up with a cool idea of a game world that I want to run, set it all up, and then I just can't seem to find enjoyment from it.

I don't connect with the players, teams, anything. Whenever I play a standard MLB game though, it's players I know, leagues, teams, everything that I know. I get some immersed in the game world that I go hours and hours playing. I never do that with a fictional game.

How do you guys stay immersed in a fictional set up? How do you care about your players and leagues?

Personally I put a lot of work into it - I follow the top players, look at team histories, am always looking for up and coming stars, etc. I love fictional and always have at least one league running. It takes a while because you don't have all the background an ever-present media provides you with for the real MLB. In the end I find.it very rewarding though.

I am probably something like 60% fictional, 30% historical and 10% real MLB.

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by MikeS21

I play with MLB rosters and regular minor league set-up. As my leagues progress season to season, regular players eventually are replaced by OOTP generated players, at which point, I begin to lose interest and usually end up starting a fresh league with familiar names. When my favorite players migrate away from my favorite team, I start focusing more on the minor leagues, but that tends to mean more fictional players generated in the drafts.

As others have done, I have attempted to start a fictional league, but they never seem to hold my interest.

Just a suggestion, but have you thought of trying a random debut historical league? With approximately 18,500 players in the standard database, you could go many years without running out of players if you play it right.

[MarkInCincy]

Originally Posted by actionjackson

Just a suggestion, but have you thought of trying a random debut historical league? With approximately 18,500 players in the standard database, you could go many years without running out of players if you play it right.

Or use Spritzes DB to get even more (24k+ or so ???)

[jpeters1734]

I would like to point out that an MLB league 10 in the future is not a fictional league. Fictional players, but the league is the same.

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by MarkInCincy

Or use Spritzes DB to get even more (24k+ or so ???)

It's about 29,000 or so actually, but yeah...There's that option too.

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

You can write whatever you wish. But by arguing merit by user percentage, the implication is that the largest percentage should receive the predominant attention, and the smaller percentages can be safely ignored, since, after all, they are small and thus of little influence or value.

I'm not arguing "merit." I'm pointing out common business sense. If I'm selling something and I know that two-thirds of my customers prefer X, then X is what I'm going to make/stock/sell/improve the most. That's just simple business logic.

[The Wolf]

The only way I found to develop any kind of attachment to a fictional league was to sim it for a very long time before I started playing it, like at least twenty years, to give it its own history. That helps, or at least it helped me.

[SirMichaelJordan]

Originally Posted by jpeters1734

I would like to point out that an MLB league 10 in the future is not a fictional league. Fictional players, but the league is the same.

What if your league evolved to something that isn't MLB anymore?

[MarkInCincy]

Originally Posted by actionjackson

It's about 29,000 or so actually, but yeah...There's that option too.

That's a sign I haven't used it in a while

[Honorable_Pawn]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

The only way I found to develop any kind of attachment to a fictional league was to sim it for a very long time before I started playing it, like at least twenty years, to give it its own history. That helps, or at least it helped me.

Interesting. For me it was the opposite. Slowly seeing the history unfold is how I became attached to it. It was when I stopped being a simmer that my attachment to fictional leagues grew.

[strzepeksc]

Yes I do I run a league that runs only six seasons each OOTP release...which takes about one calendar year with 7 day sims 4 times a week.
We restart with the new game and new roster set every six seasons

Originally Posted by pizzaddict

So what happens after 7 or 8 seasons when those players you recognize are gone? At that point you are basically running a fictional league. Do you scrap your league and start over every handful of seasons?

[dave1927p]

At the same time, how many people tweak the rules of modern mlb? I imagine that number is quite high. So I would expect there's multiple ways to dissect those figures.